How Our Awards Consultants Can Help You

At Awards International, we’re incredibly proud of our team. They work incredibly hard to give every customer the individual attention they deserve, and help them out a great deal throughout their Awards journey. This is the case for both finalists and judges.

To give you an indication of the help we can offer, today we’re sharing interviews with two members of the team. Explaining how we can help finalists is Awards Consultant Kristina Simonovic, and discussing the judging process is our Customer Relationship Executive Vuk Vukanovic. We hope this gives you a clear picture of the attention, care and hard work we put in for our customers.

Kristina

In what ways can you assist a customer on their Awards journey?

My main goal as a consultant is to focus on the work our customers have done and advise them how to best approach the awards process. The process itself is straightforward, but I am able to advise on the best material to use for their initiative, and help with choosing the right category. Guiding them through the awards journey, it is my job to provide an excellent customer experience from our side as well. This means if they need any help with writing an entry, additional material in terms of case studies or guides on how entries are scored, I am able to assist and provide them with that. My advices ranges from the technical side to specific situations that require an individual approach.

I want to make sure everyone feels worthy of the award and are proud to be participating due to their brilliant work.

What general advice can you give for somebody considering how to write their entry?

Believe in your work and focus on how best to describe your journey to the results.  Don’t be afraid to speak about the challenges along the way and how you overcame them.

Include examples, images, and most of all: make sure your initiative has some heart!

What are the main benefits of becoming a finalist?

Honestly, people are not always aware of how much time Judges spend on scoring the written entry and the live presentations, as well. Finalists get excellent feedback! Plus the competition in all of our awards is quite strong, so it makes it even more impressive when you reach the Finals. To be able to present your work in front of all your peers and hear what they are doing, as well – that’s really valuable.  We sometimes think we are doing everything right and the same as everyone else, or that we’re completely different to everyone else! However, you’d be surprised how many times you’ll hear a new idea, meet new people, or connect with someone who might add value to your business at our Awards. Finally, credibility is built on customers’ trust. And that trust is gained when they see you going above and beyond, presenting your work, being open to changes, taking on board feedback and continually striving to improve. That is what brings you business at and a good relationship with your customers. Becoming a Finalist at the awards is a first step towards that.

Vuk

In what ways can you assist a potential judge on their Awards journey?

First, I would like to make a difference between previous and new judges. Previous ones are already familiar with the scoring process, the criteria for scoring entries, how to choose categories, and the benefits and format of the Awards. Previous judges usually need assistance for the new programmes that we launch and all the possibilities of cooperation. They are always keen to become a Chair Judge, Ambassador and Partner of Awards International. I can’t count how many judges from the UK or the Netherlands came in the last two years to Dubai just for the Awards Finals, or how many people from the Gulf region and all around the world came to Wembley or Amsterdam. As previously mentioned, people judging for the first time with us want to know more about the whole process – and we can help with that. We also have marketing campaign, ‘’We connect people”, which also proves how we are putting people from all around the world in touch.

What qualities are you looking for in a judge?

There are criteria for being a Judge and it’s very important to understand that not everyone can be part of it. There’s no registration form on the website, but we have an Apply to Judge button, as around 30% of our Judges are Inbound. After our acceptance panel approves the profile, we can send the registration form. The criteria for being a judge are professional experience, length of tenure, education and recommendations from our previous customers.

What are the main benefits of becoming a judge?

It’s all about sharing, learning and meeting new people. We have the most innovative entries at our awards and it’s a two-way street: as a judge, you will definitely learn something new, which you can implement into your organization after the Awards. Also, there are a lot of marketing opportunities, where we will share your participation with our global network. You’ll also have the opportunity to contribute to our Customer Experience Magazine.

We make every effort to ensure you have the information and support necessary for a great Awards experience, whether you’re a finalist or a judge. Whether it’s helping you choose a category, letting you know about all the different opportunities at the event or answering any questions you might have, we’re here for you.

Enter the UK Customer Experience Awards

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To find out more about judging, contact vuk@awardsinternational.com